Millennium Bug Help Is Goal Of House Bill

State Senate Targets Gambling On Internet

SPRINGFIELD — Senators passed a measure Friday to crack down on Internet gambling, as a House committee approved legislation to protect consumers if the Millennium Bug puts them in a financial pinch.

The legislation moved forward as other bills dealing with obscenity standards and keeping schoolchildren safe from convicted or suspected sex offenders advanced in the General Assembly.

The Senate's anti-gambling bill would make it a misdemeanor to establish, maintain or operate an Internet site that permits a person to play games of chance for money or other things of value. A second offense would be a felony.

"Let's not have the Internet become a gambling mecca for somebody," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Dick Klemm (R-Crystal Lake).

His bill is aimed at preventing someone in Illinois from operating a gambling site on the Internet. It is not aimed at bettors.

The proposal would cover wagering on things such as games, contests, political nominations, appointments and elections.

The Senate sent the bill to the House on a 55-0 vote.

Although the bill addresses only operators based in Illinois, Klemm said he hopes Congress will curtail sites based in other states but accessible over the Internet.

The House Computer Technology Committee approved a bill to protect consumers from suffering financially if they are unable to make payments because somebody else's computer fails to work on Jan. 1, 2000.

Many computers may not work correctly on that date because they only keep track of years with two digits. Thus, a date that ends "00" may be misread as 1900 instead of 2000.

One goal of the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Constance Howard (D-Chicago), is to prevent consumers from being charged late fees or having their credit rating downgraded if, for example, an employer's computer crashes and an employee's paycheck arrives late.

Though Rep. Tom Cross (R-Oswego) said he fears the bill might add to the "hysteria" surrounding the Millennium Bug, Howard said she thinks it will put consumers' minds at ease.

Also Friday, the House Judiciary Committee on Civil Law approved a measure that would allow juries to determine whether something is obscene and should be banned based on what the average resident of their county might think.

Currently, obscenity is defined by a statewide standard rather than a county-by-county standard. Critics see the bill as a threat to free speech.

The House also is considering a measure to require that Chicago's local school council members undergo criminal background checks after their election.

The measure follows the December arrest of Rev. Michael Taylor, chairman of Lindblom Technical High School's council, on charges that he sexually assaulted a Lindblom student.

Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) said her legislation was not targeted only at convicted or suspected sex offenders.

"I'm aiming it at anyone who would place our children at risk," she said. "Suppose you had a person who was arrested three months ago or convicted of being a drug dealer. Would you want that person in your school on a daily basis?"

Already, Chicago public school employees and volunteers must undergo background checks, officials said. Council candidates are required to disclose past criminal convictions, but Davis said that sex offenders may not be forthcoming about their records.

Under the bill, the Chicago Board of Education would decide whether to conduct fingerprint checks in addition to name checks.